I’m on a path to find reprieve from the suffering around me. But as I turn the next corner of clouding darkness, a bright red light paralyzes me as the forceful and commanding voice of my father tells me that not only am I doomed to fail in my struggles, but that I am actively causing the very harm I am seeking to…
David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and the reviews have begun to emerge. The film follows a businessman and grieving widower who invents a controversial technology known as Gravetech that allows families to see inside the graves of their loved ones as they decompose. Although known as the master of body horror, fans shouldn’t expect too much of that as Cronenberg’s latest is a much more personal film. The Shrouds is at least partly inspired by the death of his wife, Carolyn Cronenberg, in 2017.
THR‘s Leslie Felperin said, “This fetid stew of sex, death and tech may be an aphrodisiac for hardcore Cronenberg fans, but more casual viewers are likely to find it all rather slapdash and undercooked here. Cinematographer Douglas Koch’s lighting looks drabber than usual, and many of the scenes feel like the first or second take after a long day’s filming, thrown in the can so the production can move on. There’s little of the verve, wit or invention that make vintage Cronenberg still so evergreen, which renders this already melancholy work even sadder to watch.“
The Wrap‘s Steve Pond said, “At most Cannes Film Festivals, a new film by David Cronenberg might well be the creepiest, most shocking film in the lineup – particularly if it’s about cameras that allow people to see their loved ones decompose after death, as ‘The Shrouds’ is. But while ‘The Shrouds’ is strong stuff and contains images not for the squeamish, at this year’s festival, Cronenberg-style body horror has been delivered more robustly by the likes of Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance.” By contrast, ‘The Shrouds’ is restrained, even elegant. It’s a deeply personal look at loss that finds plenty of time to get creepy but never loses sight of the fact that it’s a movie about grief.“
Deadline‘s Stephanie Bunbury said, “[Cronenberg’s] customary flat style is energized here by the performances brought by actors new to his fleshy universe. Cassel, embodying the bereaved Karsh, seems to vibrate with emotions only just kept in check. Diane Kruger plays both his dead wife — always naked and sometimes partially dismembered in his tormented black-and-white dreams — and her sister Terry, a zany dog-walker who corners him into having an affair with her.” However, Bunbury felt let down by the ending. “By the last half-hour of The Shrouds, these various plot threads (and many others, too many to mention) are whipping around dangerously like loose electric cables in a storm… Whatever else you may expect of Cronenberg as a distinctive auteur – wry humor, a measured pace, exultant wallowing in foul goo – you’re not expecting the narrative to explode into bits. That really is a new kind of ick.“
IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich said, “Between its paranoid scramble of a plot and a protagonist who becomes increasingly difficult to see as anything more than an avatar for its auteur, ‘The Shrouds’ lends itself to a sort of delayed appreciation; its story only makes sense with the detached perspective that might begin to develop in the time between the death of a loved one and the funeral service at which they’re laid to rest.“.”
ScreenDaily‘s Fionnuala Halligan said, “The Shrouds, David Cronenberg’s seventh film to compete at Cannes, certainly boasts a terrific premise. But it is indeed a day to grieve when the most shocking thing about a David Cronenberg film is how dull it is.“
Although The Shrouds is a personal film, David Cronenberg didn’t necessarily view it as part of his grieving process following the death of his wife. “Whether you’re rehashing something from your distant past or your present circumstances, there’s always creative energy that can be mined from your life,” the director told Variety. “But grief is forever, as far as I’m concerned. It doesn’t go away. You can have some distance from it, but I didn’t experience any catharsis making the movie.“
The Shrouds stars Vincent Cassel as Karsh, “an innovative businessman and grieving widower, who builds a novel device to connect with the dead inside a burial shroud. This burial tool installed at his own state-of-the-art though controversial cemetery allows him and his clients to watch their specific departed loved one decompose in real time. Karsh’s revolutionary business is on the verge of breaking into the international mainstream when several graves within his cemetery are vandalized and nearly destroyed, including that of his wife. While he struggles to uncover a clear motive for the attack, the mystery of who wrought this havoc, and why, drive him to reevaluate his business, marriage and fidelity to his late wife’s memory, as well as push him to new beginnings.“
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Lionsgate announced release dates for a few movies today, including Flight Risk, Mel Gibson’s first time in the director’s chair since Hacksaw Ridge. The action thriller, which stars Mark Wahlberg, will be released on October 18th.
Directed by Mel Gibson and written by Jared Rosenberg, Flight Risk finds Wahlberg playing a pilot transporting an Air Marshall (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.”
Our own Chris Bumbray was able to see a trailer for Flight Risk at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last month and he teased that Wahlberg is playing “WAY against type” in the movie. “He even shaved his head to look like he has a bald pate,” Bumbray wrote. “Looks like a really tight kickass thriller, and Gibson REALLY makes Walhberg look crazy in this.” Gibson is always good behind the camera, so I’m sure plenty of you will be pleased to see him back at the helm. It’s been too long.
Lionsgate also announced that The Killer’s Game, an action comedy directed by JJ Perry, would be released on September 13th. The film stars Dave Bautista as Joe Flood, a top hitman who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to take matters into his own hands by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend, he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love and his life before it’s too late. The Killer’s Game also stars Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley. Bumbray also caught a look at this film at CinemaCon, saying it “Looks like a hardcore, R-rated action flick and might be Bautista’s John Wick.“
The long-awaited Den of Thieves sequel, Den of Thieves: Pantera, will be released on January 10, 2025. Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. return for the sequel, which finds Big Nick (Butler) back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange.
The post Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk starring Mark Wahlberg lands October release, plus dates for Den of Thieves 2 and The Killer’s Game appeared first on JoBlo.
We’ve seen other big-screen franchises make the leap to TV over the years, but could Fast & Furious be next?
While speaking with Variety, NBCUniversal Studio group chairman and chief content officer Donna Langley teased the future of the Fast & Furious franchise, saying there’s “still gas in the tank” even after the Fast X sequel hits theaters in 2026. Where the franchise goes from there is unclear, but Langley said, “We may pivot another time and bring it back to the streets of L.A. and maybe make it a more intimate story.” After mentioning previous NBCUniversal shows based on movies, such as Pitch Perfect and Ted, Langley said, “Fast and Furious is a good one” for a potential future TV series.
Despite the Fast X sequel being billed as the franchise’s grand finale, I think we all know it will continue. Fast X director Louis Leterrier will return to direct the 11th installment, and he recently teased that pre-production is expected to kick off once he finishes work on his sci-fi horror movie 11817. “It’s happening. It’s happening very, very soon,” Leterrier said. “I’m able to shoot a little horror movie this summer. I’m finishing my horror movie on September 15th, and I start Fast on September 16th.” He clarified that Fast and Furious 11 will start shooting in early 2025, saying, “It’s filming early next year, and it’s coming out in 2026, which will be, exactly to the day, 25 years since the first one came out.“
We have seen the Fast & Furious franchise on the small screen before, as the animated Fast & Furious Spy Racers series lasted for six seasons on Netflix. There are certainly plenty of characters who could make appearances in a live-action Fast & Furious series, or it could focus on entirely new characters. The crazy races and high-octane action wouldn’t necessarily be diminished by a move to the small screen, as we’re certainly a long way from the era when television meant a far cheaper production. Some TV shows boast budgets to rival big screen productions these days, with hundreds of millions spent on a single season.
Would you like to see a live-action Fast & Furious TV series?
The post Could the Fast & Furious franchise make the leap to TV? appeared first on JoBlo.
It’s only been about two years or so since the video game industry began charging $70 for big games instead of the usual $60, due to game development costs increasing (and greed). This shift, understandably, didn’t go over well with players as the cost to stay up-to-date with modern gaming continues to rise, but that…
It’s only been about two years or so since the video game industry began charging $70 for big games instead of the usual $60, due to game development costs increasing (and greed). This shift, understandably, didn’t go over well with players as the cost to stay up-to-date with modern gaming continues to rise, but that…
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is historically significant for many reasons: it was the first Star Wars movie in nearly 16 years, the last Star Wars movie shot on film, and a polarizing, pulpy entry in the storied space fantasy franchise. It debuted on May 19, 1999, 25 years ago almost to the day, and earned…
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is historically significant for many reasons: it was the first Star Wars movie in nearly 16 years, the last Star Wars movie shot on film, and a polarizing, pulpy entry in the storied space fantasy franchise. It debuted on May 19, 1999, 25 years ago almost to the day, and earned…
In a surprise twist, GameStop recently announced internally that some of its stores would begin buying and selling graded collectibles like Pokémon cards. There were immediately a bunch of questions like “how?” and “why?” One YouTuber recently tested exactly how the process works.
In a surprise twist, GameStop recently announced internally that some of its stores would begin buying and selling graded collectibles like Pokémon cards. There were immediately a bunch of questions like “how?” and “why?” One YouTuber recently tested exactly how the process works.